Капитан ремонтного корабля Клэр Ковалик совершает последний рейс, после которого ее ждет увольнение и в лучшем случае незавидная канцелярская работа. Когда уже пора отправляться в обратный путь, она ловит слабый сигнал бедствия и решает провести расследование. Ремонтников ждет шокирующее открытие: они обнаруживают «Аврору», роскошный космический лайнер, исчезнувший в первом же рейсе по Солнечной системе двадцать лет назад. Трупы оказываются не самым страшным, что ждет их на борту лайнера — им грозит та же ужасная участь, которая постигла пассажиров «Авроры», и Клэр оказывается единственной, кто еще может попытаться спасти остальных.

Бестселлер New York Times.
Премия им. Уильяма Кроуфорда.
Премия «Алекс».
Номинант: Премия Дилис, Пресия Геффена, Немецкая фантастическая премия, Большая премия Воображения
Первый роман знаменитой серии «Четверг Нонетот».
Встречайте Четверг Нонетот, литературного детектива, незаменимую, без страха и упрека. А также встречайте альтернативную версию Великобритании 1985 года, где путешествия во времени – обычное дело, клонирование – реальность (дронты стали самыми любимыми воскрешенными домашними питомцами), а к литературе относятся очень, очень серьезно. Англия – государство, где тетя может заблудиться (в буквальном смысле) в стихах Уодсворта, воинствующие бэконианцы хулиганят на спектаклях по «Гамлету», а подделка стихотворений Байрона является уголовно наказуемым делом. Все это – обычное дело для Четверг, знаменитого литтектива, пока кто-то не начинает похищать персонажей из литературных произведений.
Когда Джейн Эйр вырывают со страниц романа Бронте, Четверг начинает поиски злодея и сама отправляется в роман, чтобы предотвратить чудовищный акт литературного убийства.
«Литературная страна чудес, напоминающая серию "Автостопом по Галактике" Дугласа Адамса и произведения Льюиса Кэрролла». – USA Today
«В этом романе отлично сочетаются альтернативная история, комедийные сценки в стиле "Монти Пайтона", суперзлодеи в а-ля Гран-Гиньоль, сорванные свадьбы, модерн и постмодерн, актуальный политический комментарий, путешествия во времени, вампиры, чудаковатые изобретатели, суровый рассказчик и многое, многое другое… Отбросьте неверие, найдите тихий уголок и просто присоединяйтесь к неудержимой и всегда находчивой Четверг Нонетот». – The Washington Post
«Четверг Нонетот – это отчасти Бриджит Джонс, отчасти Нэнси Дрю и отчасти Грязный Гарри». – Митико Какутани, The New York Times
«Наполненная ловкой игрой слов и литературными аллюзиями, этот роман сочетает в себе элементы "Монти Пайтона", "Гарри Поттера", Стивена Хокинга и "Баффи – истребительницы вампиров", но ее причудливый шарм – это собственное очарование». – The Wall Street Journal
«Роман как энергичная переписка с жанровой фантастикой: отчасти крутой детектив, отчасти путешествия во времени, в которой действует дерзкая, начитанная Четверг Нонетот, специальный оперативник отдела литературных детективов, больше напоминающая Бриджит Джонс, а не мисс Марпл. Почти каждое предложение Ффорде сопровождается лукавым подмигиванием, а игра слов, мелочи и внутренние шутки дается ему с легкостью. Искрометность Ффорде всегда очень заразительна». – The New York Times Book Review
«Буйный меланж из криминала, комедии и альтернативной истории». – Houston Chronicle
«Нужно быть смелым авантюристом, чтобы играть с литературой с такой свободой и быстротой, и именно это мы наблюдаем в цикле "Четверг Нонетот" у Ффорде». – Newsday
«Автор обеспечивает многочисленные сюжетные повороты, яркие литературные отсылки и потоки дикой метафикциональной выдумки в романе, который ставит литературу в центр поп-культурной вселенной. Все это складывается в умное и веселое приключение». – Time Out New York
«Смесь саспенса и нелепости, две части фэнтези ("Алиса в стране чудес" и "Супермен"), две части абсурда (все, что написано Карлом Хайасеном) и часть тайны (Агата Кристи и Сью Графтон)». – St. Louis Post-Dispatch
«Ее зовут Нонетот. Четверг Нонетот. И ее история столь же забавна и интригует, как и краткое изложение ее истории на страницах этого романа. Нонетот – литтектив в мире, настолько очарованном литературой, что шекспировского "Ричарда III" ставят по ночам, как будто это "Шоу ужасов Рокки Хоррора"». – Sun-Sentinel
«Смешно и уморительно. Моргните, и вы пропустите важный поворот в повествовании. Здесь есть отблески Дугласа Адамса, Льюиса Кэрролла, "Заводного апельсина" и "1984". И это только для начала». – Time Out London
«То, что делает автор – это вариация классического гамбита "Монти Пайтона": бессвязное сопоставление дурацких шуток и высокой эрудиции – такое мошенничество не было провернуто с таким изяществом с безудержной энергией с тех пор, как "Пайтоны" перестали выпускать свои работы. Этот роман – нелепая книга для умных людей: постмодернизм, сыгранный как грубый, завывающий фарс». – Independent

Частный детектив Татьяна Иванова ищет убийцу хозяина художественной галереи. Тело Владислава было найдено в городском парке, а его дорогой автомобиль пропал. Все указывает на убийство ради ограбления, но Татьяна не спешит делать выводы. У Владислава было слишком много врагов, поэтому стоит проверить все версии…
Марина Серова – феномен современного отечественного детективного жанра. Выпускница юрфака МГУ, работала в Генеральной прокуратуре. Участвовала в оперативных мероприятиях. Автор ряда остросюжетных повестей, суммарный тираж которых превышает двадцать миллионов экземпляров.

Убить семью в обмен на имбовый дар… Или умереть самому. Сложный выбор для попаданца, который еще вчера был простым работягой. Нелепая случайность сломала грани миров. Обычный рабочий в теле юного дворянина, за которым охотится Высшее зло. Интриги, развитие магии, роскошные балы и кровавые заговоры. Разве это под силу простому слесарю из глубинки? Рабочая смекалка против хитрости местных аристо. Кто знает, что из этого выйдет… Ясно только одно — легких путей тут не будет.


Примечания автора:
— Развлекательная боярка на вечер под пробочку пива.
— Основная фишка — насыщенный сюжет с элементами детектива. Никаких водных глав и растянутых на "мильен километров" пустых сцен. Только сюжетное мясо, только хардкор.
— СисичГи-тяночки есть. Но в меру. Без трэша и фантазий бомжа-извращенца. Элементы гарема тоже немного присутствуют.
— У ГГ имбовый дар. Но опять же без перегибов. Зато с нагибом всех несогласных.
— Капелька дебильного петросянства, чисто для лёгкого кринжа.
— Не смотрите аннотацию, а сразу читайте книгу. Ибо в "красивые обертки" я не умею.
— Сам читаю, все нравится. Если это не шедевр, тогда что?…

Сексуальные красотки, которых тянет ко мне, как магнитом. Такой второй шанс примет каждый! Только девушки эти с секретом. Кто в огромную лису превратится, кто в плотоядного кролика. Нафиг оно мне, охотнику высшего ранга, сдалось? Живо дайте нормальных монстров! Как только эти? Какая ещё Высшая миссия? Да я вас всех от... Стоп, кто меня хочет сожрать? Разве такие бывают...

Небоскреб корпорации в центре Токио, точнее его подвал. Там работает стажер Кайто, который не добился успеха к тридцати годам и получил клеймо неудачника.
Друзей нет, девушка сбежала к другому, а будущее лишено перспектив.
Так было, пока в стажера не попал россиянин с весьма необычной профессией.
Его ждут разборки богатых семей, ночные отчеты и сдача недельного плана за два часа.
Кто сказал, что будет легко? Это Токио, детка. Но русские, как мы знаем, сдаваться не любят. Посмотрим, что из этого выйдет...

Книга известного ученого, профессора Мельбурнского университета Стивена Макинтайра, считается одним из лучших общих очерков истории Австралии в мировой научной литературе. Автор внимательно и критично рассматривает все основные проблемы изучения прошлого страны, описывает ключевые события и процессы австралийской истории. В книге развенчиваются некогда господствовавшие стереотипные представления об Австралии, как стране, чья история начинается лишь с прибытия английских каторжников и надзирателей. Для автора — миф и идеология "Белой Австралии" давно изжили себя, как и пренебрежительное отношение к истории и культуре аборигенных народов. Особенностью работы Макинтайра является органичное сочетание политической, экономической и культурной составляющей истории страны. Книга дает великолепное представление о духе и национальном самосознании австралийцев и в этом качестве представляет большой интерес не только для тех, кто изучает и преподает историю, но и для действительно широкого круга читателей.

Йозеф Бирбихлер (род. 1948) – немецкий актер театра и кино, писатель, журналист. Снимался у Вернера Херцога («Стеклянное сердце»), Михаэля Ханеке («Белая лента»), Тома Тыквера. Бирбихлер часто работает в жанре аудиоспектакля. Он озвучил, среди прочего, произведения Генриха фон Клейста, Хуго Балля, Роберта Музиля, Джеймса Джойса.
Роман «Mittelreich» (2013) – семейная сага в лучших традициях жанра. История семьи, управляющей усадьбой на озере в Баварии, неразрывно связана с историей Германии XX века. Эпическое повествование о судьбах трех поколений оборачивается рассуждением о судьбе страны, о войне и разрушении, старой власти и новых хозяевах жизни.

В сборник включены издающиеся впервые в России письма и документы виднейшего российского социал-демократа (меньшевика) Ю. О. Мартова, относящиеся к событиям революции и Гражданской войны. Публикуемые материалы дают яркое представление о сложнейшем клубке политических конфликтов тех лет, мужественном противостоянии демократических сил установленному в России диктаторскому большевистскому режиму, совершенно по-новому освещают трагический этап отечественной истории и жизнь самого Мартова, преданного забвению советской историографией, одного из основателей российской социал-демократической партии. Вступительная статья известных историков, докторов исторических наук Ю. Г. Фельштинского и Г. И. Чернявского, рассказывает о политическом пути Мартова и значении публикуемых документов, а детальные примечания разъясняют сущность событий тех лет и дают представление о деятелях, упоминаемых в книге.
Издание рассчитано не только на специалистов, но и на широкую читательскую аудиторию.

«Хочется всех послать, а еще поесть ттокпокки» содержит расшифровки записей консультаций с психотерапевтом автора, Пэк Сехи, страдающей дистимией (состояние легкой подавленности, которое может сохраняться очень длительное время). В рассказах автора много личного и очень откровенного, но суть их не в демонстрации темных чувств, а в поиске изначальных причин конкретных ситуаций, в движении к выздоровлению. Эта книга для тех, кто испытывал подавленность или депрессию, находится в поисках гармонии с собой и окружающим миром.

Я был проклят ещё до своего рождения, а при столь паршивом раскладе глупо уповать на долгую счастливую жизнь. Обмануть судьбу не помогут никакие зароки, ведь на всём белом свете не сыскать ничего прилипчивей порчи. И сгинуть бы мне до срока, да только иной босяк живучей помойного кота – вот я и выкрутился, умудрившись прыгнуть выше головы. Лишился при этом всего, что только имел и чем дорожил, зато разжёг в себе белый пламень магического таланта. Стал другим человеком. Тайнознатцем. Магом и колдуном. Адептом не хуже прочих!

В книгу вошли повести и рассказы: «Верность», «Alma Mater», «Бридж», «Хиромантия», «Сентиментальное путешествие из Берлина в Лейпциг», «Жертва», «Счастье», «Возвращение», «Советчица», «Телефонный разговор», «Парижанка», «Мирочка».
Раздел «Воспоминания, статьи, очерки» включает работы о поэте Георгии Адамовиче, художниках Гончаровой и Ларионове, драматурге, режиссере Н.Н.Евреинове, об актрисе О. Глебовой-Судейкиной, писателях: В.Набокове, Саше Черном, Борисе Пастернаке и других людях искусства.
Издание из коллекции «Книги издательства ИМКА-Пресс (YMCA-Press)» Фонда редких книг Центральной городской библиотеки им. В.Ф. Кашковой.

1. Sols 4362-4363: Plates And Polygons  Mirage News
2. Sols 4359-4361: Ideal Rover Road Trip Spot  Mirage News

1. Beijing and Washington stops provide clues for Indonesia's direction under Prabowo Subianto  ABC News
2. Prabowo pledges co-operation with Trump  The Australian Financial Review
3. Indonesian president meets Biden and speaks with Trump  The Canberra Times
4. At White House, Indonesia's new leader straddles US-China rivalry  VOA Asia
5. Will Prabowo Subianto cosy up to Donald Trump or to China?  The Economist

1. Germany to hold snap election in February after government's coalition collapse  ABC News
2. The briefcase, the Porsche and the collapse of the German government – podcast  The Guardian
3. Germany set for snap election following collapse of Olaf Scholz’s coalition  The Conversation
4. President calls German early election plan 'realistic'  DW (English)

1. Cindy Crossthwaite's estranged husband faces Supreme Court murder trial over mother of three's death  ABC News
2. 'Deep-seated hatred' for estranged wife led to killing, jury told  9News
3. 'Deep-seated hatred' for estranged wife led to killing, court hears  9News

The Autumn 2022 issue of Agapé, the official journal of U.S. Grand Lodge O.T.O., is now available. This and all previous issues can be found here.

The Winter 2022 issue of Agapé, the official journal of U.S. Grand Lodge O.T.O., is now available. This and all previous issues can be found here.

The Spring 2023 issue of Agapé, the official journal of U.S. Grand Lodge O.T.O., is now available. This and all previous issues can be found here.

The Summer 2023 issue of Agapé, the official journal of U.S. Grand Lodge O.T.O., is now available. This and all previous issues can be found here.

A judge who was verbally abused by a defendant reciprocated at a court hearing where he was being sentenced for breaching an antisocial behaviour order.

John Hennigan, 50, who had breached the order by using racist language towards a black woman and her two children told Chelmsford crown court judge Patricia Lynch QC that she was “a bit of a cunt”. And Judge Lynch replied: “You are a bit of a cunt yourself.”

When Hennigan screamed back “Go fuck yourself”, the judge replied: “You too.” He reportedly also shouted “Sieg Heil” – a pro-Hitler chant used in Nazi Germany – and banged the glass panel of the dock as he was jailed for 18 months.

Hennigan, from Harlow, Essex, has dozens of previous convictions for offences including drug and firearm possession and common assault.

An asbo was previously imposed on him in 2005 when a swastika was discovered daubed on the front door of his council house.

I can understand the Judge's  reaction, but I have never used that word in court, other than in direct quotation from the evidence.


Perhaps a quiet word from the circuit presider might be in order here.

The House of Commons has just refused to allow pardons to men convicted decades ago of sex offences that are no longer illegal. The issue has stirred up the inevitable hornets' nest of Twitter and Press comments, and we are left with the illogical situation that those men (yes, all men) who have died will be pardoned but the living remain with a stain on their character.

I suspect that the furore is largely a matter of semantics; a 'pardon' has a defined legal meaning, but in common parlance it has different implications. If I offend someone, or tread on their toe in error, they my well pardon me for the wrong that I have done them, and that is that. However, a pardon for  a crime looks to the layman as if the offence was indeed committed , but the Queen will overlook it. That is not at all what the convicted men are looking for, but rather an apologetic wiping clean of the slate. Only the archaic concept of a  royal pardon looks to be possible in law, unless legislation can be changed.

Common compassion suggests that the huge shift in public attitudes to same-sex relationships should be reflected in the law. It is a small  matter in the great scheme of things, but means a great deal to the men affected. Parliament is rammed to the doors with lawyers: surely a couple of them could draft a swift form of words to clear up this relatively minor injustice? 

Ski Sunday presenter Ed Leigh is wowed by Sochi two years ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics

Today's Pizza a Day Diet pizza is technically not a pizza.  It's a flatbread. NB: All pizzas are flatbreads but not all flatbreads are pizzas (A flatbread has an unleavened crust).

I happened to be up north during rush hour so I decided to find the closest Italian place and see what they had that resembled a pizza. :-). This happened to be the Maggiano's in the Domain.  The place has sort of a Disney-fied feel of a downtown Italian restaurant, which is not surprising since the first Maggiano's was founded in Chicago by the Lettuce Entertain You chain whose specialty is theme restaurants. 

Anyway, I took a table in the bar and ordered a Caesar salad and the sausage flatbread.  The sausage was removed from the casing but still distributed in large chunks and had that good Italian-sausage flavor.  The cheese was also abundant and flavorful.  And the crust? Nice and crispy at first and then steamed through. 

Here are a couple pics:

Never actually saw anyone on a horse

So after having completed my first triathlon in 20 years, I decided to sign up for the Austin Ironman 70.3 on October 29! It's a "half Ironman" distance race, meaning it's a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. I figured the swim's only a little longer than an Olympic distance tri and the bike and the run are only about twice the distance, so why not?

Even better, the race was just outside Austin, so I wouldn't have to travel. The swim was in Decker Lake (Walter E. Long Lake), the bike was a 56 mile loop almost out to Elgin, and the run would be in the park by the lake and up to the Travis County Convention Center.  I was a little concerned about the hills (having run the Decker Challenge Half Marathon more than once) but decided that that was what training was for.

That started in June, not long after the Capital of Texas Triathlon. Yes, training would be through the height of a Texas summer.  And every time I went out, I would remember Noel Coward's line that "[m]ad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun..."

My training program was based Triathlete Magazine's Week by Week Training Guide and involved nine workouts a week. I didn't completely adhere to all of the mileage suggestions (some weeks doing more, some less), but mostly kept to the program of two a days.  

By early August, the mileage was starting to pile up but it didn't seem particularly efficient (and also was getting a little tedious), so I decided to join the triathlon training/masters swim group at Pure Austin Gym and, really, it was the best decision I made in the entire process.  The awesome Coach Peri Kowal leads two swim workouts a week, mostly in a pool but also including two a month in the Quarry Lake, so participants can get used to open water swimming. (Also, during the summer, the gym does a Splash N Dash (Swim 750k, then run 2k) once a month; it's good practice for the whole "group of people in the water, don't get kicked in the face" thing).

Quarry Lake

Somewhat to my surprise, the group was a mix from beginning triathletes to multiple Ironman (and Kona) finishers.  Everyone was enthusiastic and supportive, even when insufficiently caffeinated during the Thursday morning (6 AM) workouts.

Insufficiently caffeinated

Best of all, there were a number of folks for whom the Austin Ironman 70.3 was to be their first half Ironman, as well, so we fell into an ad hoc training group of the equally blissfully ignorant, typically doing our long bike rides and BRicks together on weekend mornings. It was great having a mutual support group and not just when we got flat tires...(Incidentally, if you get a flat in Texas, watch out for fire ants).

Anyway, here are some pics of the process:

Training happens even when you're away on business

Igloo coolers are our friends!

Monkey Road really needs to be resurfaced

Don't drive off with your cell phone on the roof of your car

The gang poses after a long BRick

Starting the run after a 40 mile bike ride...

Kevin and Alec hamming it up...

My first shoes to come with an instruction manual

Celebrating Coach Peri's birthday!

Sights you see along Town Lake

More sights...

About to test out a wetsuit

Went through a lot of these...

Feeling punchy three days before the race...

On the whole, training took a lot of time and work and there were moments in early October when I was really ready for race day to arrive. OTOH, I'm also happy I had that extra three weeks of training....

In the end, I was really glad to have been able to do race-distance open-water swims in the Quarry Lake and to bike the race route. I think we ended up riding the route about 5-7 times altogether and it was helpful not just for putting in mileage but in learning where the potholes and seams were. Also, the BRick workouts were really helpful -- when I had done triathlons in the 90s, the bike to run transition was always terrible. This time, not so much...but that's for another post :-).

I finished training feeling cautiously optimistic -- I'd put in the time and the mileage and the BRicks and the intensity and worked out my nutrition and hydration requirements and figured out how to change a flat tire without getting bit by fire ants in under ten minutes.  We had generally accounted for every possible variable and had kept in mind the mantra, "Don't try anything new on race day."

Except that having trained through blistering heat and humidity of Texas in the summer and fall, the weather was forecast to be 39 degrees at race start... 
















So, how did that go? Well, I'll do Race Day Weekend in another post...

Okay, it's been a while, but I thought I'd finally post about the 2017 Austin Ironman 70.3 race weekend. :-). Like I mentioned in my last post, I felt fairly optimistic -- if anything I was a bit burned out on training.

The big kicker, though, was that the weather was forecast to be 38 degrees race morning, which resulted in a bit of last-minute anxiety, mostly due to the mantra, "Don't do anything different on race day." That is, it is unwise in the extreme to test out new equipment or clothing on race day. Unfortunately, faced with the prospect of a 38 degree swim and bike ride (and the fact that it would warm up quickly), we had to make some last minute adjustments.

The week before the race, I picked up a triathlon jersey that had sleeves, and borrowed some arm warmers from one of my training partners.  Saturday morning, I went for a five mile test ride and realized I needed gloves, which necessitated a trip to Austin Tri-Cyclist, where I was not the only one making such a purchase :-). 

I was still a bit concerned about the swim, but I had a wetsuit, so I figured I'd done all I could do. Still, I was coveting one with sleeves...
I next headed over to the Travis County Expo Center to pick up my swag bag, drop off my bicycle and gear, and check out the transition areas.

Our happy faces before we get out of the car into the cold...

 Next morning, three of us drove out together and arrived in the cold dark of the Travis County Expo. Center at around 5:30. Did I mention that it was cold? Eventually, we got on the bus to take us to the staging area at Walter Long (Decker) Lake. There, we put on wetsuits, met up with our other training partners, and shivered a lot.

Eventually, though, as the sun started to peak above the horizon, we lined up according to our projected swim times and prepared for the start of the race. I was still worried about the swim and the cold -- even though I was wearing socks (to be discarded just before start), my feet were starting to go numb and my arms were not happy either.

But then it was time! I ran into the water and dived in as soon as I could. To my surprise, it was actually pleasant -- the water itself was around 68-72 degrees, so compared to the air temperature, it was balmy.  The only real problem was that fog on the water and the glare of the sun were making it hard to see the buoys. About halfway through the swim I began thinking that the temperature really wasn't bad -- if anything, it was a bit too warm. 

Emerging from the water...

But then I finished the swim and stood and was confronted by the reality of confronting an air temp of around 40 while being soaking wet.  I grabbed my glasses from the special needs table and a nice man helped me get the wetsuit off. (This basically involved lying back on the wet ground, sticking my feet in the air and having him pull. Thank you, sir.). My time was a little slower than I would've liked, but I was fairly happy with it.

I made it to transition, took a big swig of water, swallowed the contents of an energy gel pack, and put on my winter cycling garb. Then I was off!

And it was frickin' cold.

Contemplating that wind chill...

 It was this weird Catch-22 where you want to go as fast as possible (for the race, of course, but also so you warm up), but also kind of are thinking that if you slowed down a touch the wind chill wouldn't be quite so bad.  I ended up spending the next hour shivering until the ambient temperature and I warmed up.
Now, I actually kind of like the bike route -- it's mostly country roads with little traffic, and I rode the route about a half-dozen times in training. The problem with it is that a number of the roads are not exactly well=paved. Bumps and potholes and patches proliferate, especially on Monkey Road. In fact, the dip where it crosses a creek is so bumpy that by the time I got there, there were at least a dozen water bottle scattered on the ground.

There were way too many hills, however :-).

Beyond that, the ride felt fine, although my back began to hurt about halfway through -- I wasn't used to spending that much time in the aero position, so most of the second half of my ride was with hands on the brake hoods. I made sure to stick with my hydration and nutrition plan, so I felt pretty good by the end of it.

Again, my time wasn't quite what I wanted it to be, but I was not displeased.

By the time I finished the ride, it was around noon and fairly warm, so I took the time to change from my sleeved singlet to a sleeveless one (Ironman rules require that you wear a shirt). 

Starting to feel the legs...

The run wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, although there were again too many hills :-).  I was pleased at the number and size of the aid stations -- water, electrolyte drink (Gatorade, iirc), Clif energy gels, Coca-Cola, and Red Bull were all available.  

I was definitely feeling my legs, but my quads didn't feel like they were going to seize up like they had when I did triathlons in the 90s -- all that training paid off, I guess :-). I managed to make it through without slowing to a walk (other than at aid stations, because I can't drink and run at the same time) and ended up with a run time that was comparable to my stand-alone half-marathon times.

At the finish line!

My final time was 5:50:36, which I'm pretty happy about. My goal had been 6:00:00, although I did think that 5:45:00 was not out of the question. :-).

Finisher photo! And medal!

The gang...

All in all, it was a great experience. I got out of my comfort zone, made some terrific friends, learned how to most efficiently change a bike tube, and never once thought, "I can't believe I'm paying to do this." (Okay, maybe once...).

After the race!

Celebrating the next day with Coach Peri!

I just completed my second Ironman 70.3 ("half-Ironman") in Galveston, Texas!

It was different, but not too different than the first. In some ways it was more challenging than Austin, although I did manage to eke out a personal best, so I count myself pleased, although I've identified several areas where I can improve :-).

The Galveston site presented a couple more difficulties than the Austin one, viz., transportation of people and bicycles, as well as housing therefor.  The race site was at Moody Gardens, which has its own resort hotel, which we might have done if we had planned on going on Friday and staying until Monday.  Ultimately, we decided to drive down the morning before the race with our bikes, rent a house via Airbnb, and drive back the evening of the race.

Leaving Austin at 7 AM...

With two bikes on the back, three people (and one bike) in the car, and all our gear, we were pretty packed, but the drive only took about three and a half hours, even accounting for coffee breaks.

We drove directly to Moody Gardens to pick up our race packets and drop off our bikes.  The first thing we discovered when we arrived was that it was cold and rainy and the swim venue (Offats Bayou) was a bit choppy...

Under the triumphal arch the day before the race...

Registration/packet pickup was in a big white tent overlooking the bayou (the same big white tent Moody Gardens had used for a cool dinosaur thing a couple years back).

The white tent with dinosaurs five years ago...

The pickup and registration and dropoff were strangely inefficient: You wait in line at a first table to show your ID and USA Triathlon membership; then you go to a second table to pick up your waiver and other forms. Next, you go to a third table to fill in and sign your waiver and forms, and go to a fourth table to drop off your signed waiver and forms. Thereafter, you go to a fifth table to pick up your wristband and swim cap and bike and helmet stickers; go to a sixth table to pick up your backpack/goodie bag and T-shirt; and finally, go to a seventh table to pick up your timing chip.

Then you exit via the Ironman store and vendor village where you can wait in line to buy stuff.

Inside the big white tent

The course talk was outside and the rain had died down enough so that it wasn't all that unpleasant. Behind us was the paddlewheeler Colonel and a whole lot of choppy water with whitecaps. We were assured that the weather could be better the next day, however. No rain and significantly less wind, although there would be a headwind on the return portion of the bike route.

The paddlewheeler Colonel.

The swim course, with the finish right by the paddlehweeler

The Airbnb was a nice little three-bedroom cottage about five miles from the event site and across from a large cemetery.  It had a complete kitchen that would come in useful later that night when we couldn't get into any of the nearby Italian restaurants without reservations.

The house we rented

Cemetery across street.

Making spaghetti dinner

That evening, we gathered all of our gear and made dinner and looked forward to the race. I went for a three mile run around the nieghborhood to loosen up a bit, and then we made dinner.

I managed to get around five or six hours of sleep and only hit the snooze button once when the alarm went off at 4:30 in the morning. After a couple cups of coffee, a banana, and a bagel, we were off!

The temperature felt good: low fifties, not too much of a breeze. I decided I didn't need gloves, but would take along my arm warmers for the bike just in case. We arrived at Moody Gardens a little after six and discovered we had had to park about a fifteen minute walk from the actual transition area.  A remarkably long line greeted us to enter transition (for body marking), but since we had already done so, we were able to get in with only a brief wait and some judicious weaving through the crowd.

Testing out the wetsuit when I first got it.

There was then the ritual of putting on the wetsuit and pumping the bike tires and then transition closed! (We might have cut the timing a little close).

We then made our way separately to the swim start: they did a wave start by age group. You jump off the pier (see above map), hang around in the water for a couple minutes, and then swim like the wind when you hear the starter's horn.

The water was a nice 72 degrees, about twenty degrees warmer than the outside temperature. The water felt good, although it took a few minutes to get used to the waves and occasional mouthful of salt water. I felt pretty good, though, and noticed myself passing a lot of people.  More importantly, I managed to beat my swim time from last fall's Austin Ironman 70.3.


 Once I was out of the water, the wetsuit strippers were efficient and I had no problem getting to my bike (even without my glasses), stowing my wetsuit and taking off. Because it was relatively warm, I decided not to bother with my sleeves, and I wouldn't have worn gloves even if I had brought them.

The first half of the bike portion was glorious. The temperature was perfect and I had no problems staying in aero position almost the whole way.  Unfortunately, at the turnaround, I was made to realize just how much of a tailwind I had been benefitting from. The rest of the ride felt like I was pulling a mobile home...

Grimacing with miles to go...

Also about that time, the temperature dropped by about ten degrees, and it started to rain. And then my back started to hurt from being in aero position for so long.  In short, the ride back was completely miserable...But I managed to break three hours, which had been my goal.

In addition to the lower back pain, I got a pain between my shoulders, and every time I tried to stand up in the pedals to stretch, my legs felt like they wanted to cramp up.  And my hands were so cold I could barely move them to squeeze my water bottles.

Trying to squeeze out the last drop from my water bottle.

By the time I got back to transition, my hands were so numb that I couldn't operate the clip on my helmet. Putting on my shoes and tying my laces was equally an ordeal. It didn't help that my legs and abs kept cramping up when I bent to tie the laces.  After a ridiculously long transition, I made it onto the run course and my watch died.


But my legs felt good and I enjoyed the run a lot more than I thought I was going to on the return bike. :-). My pacing was a bit off and I came in somewhat slower than I would've liked, but it still felt pretty good.

Victory!

Overall, I came in a couple minutes better than the Austin Ironman 70.3, which I'm pleased with (although I think my run could've gone better).

Mugging with the finisher's medal

Using the R8 recovery roller thing...

All in all, it was a great experience and I'd definitely do the race again. A big thanks to all the organizers, volunteers, sponsors, and first responders who made the event a success!

Weeks before the new fiscal year, Congress still hasn't finalized NASA's 2025 budget.

I'm a sucker for sage advice much as anyone else, and Kernighan is certainly right on money in the epigraph. Alas there comes a time in programmer's career when you just end up there despite the warning. It could be that you were indeed too clever for your own good, or maybe the code isn't quite yours anymore after each of your colleague's take on it over the years. Or just sometimes, the problem is indeed so hard that it strains your capacity as a coder.

It would usually start with a reasonable idea made into first iteration code. The solution looks fundamentally sound but then as you explore the problem space further it begins to seep nuance, either as manifestation of some real world complexity or your lack of foresight. When I run into this my first instinct is to instrument the code. If the problem is formidable you got to respect it: flailing around blindly modifying things or ugh, doing a rewrite at this stage is almost guaranteed to be a waste of time. It helps to find a promising spot, chisel it, gain a foothold in the problem, and repeat until you crack it. Comfortable debugging tools here can really help to erode the original Kernighan coefficient from 2 to maybe 1.6 or 1.4 where you can still have a chance.

Lisp users are fortunate with the options of interactive debugging, and one facility I reach often for is the plain BREAK. It's easy enough to wrap it into a conditional for particular matches you want to debug. However sometimes you want it to trigger after a particular sequence of events across different positions in code has taken place. While still doable it quickly becomes cumbersome and this state machine starts to occupy too much mental space which is already scarce. So one day, partly as a displacement activity from being intimidated by a Really Hard Problem I wrote down my debugging patterns as a handful of macros.

Enter BRAKE. Its features reflect my personal preferences so are not necessarily your cup of tea but it could be a starting point to explore in this direction. Things it can do:

• act as a simple BREAK with no arguments (duh)
• wrap an s-expression, passing through its values upon continuing
• trigger sequentially based on the specified position for a common tag
• allow for marks that don't trigger the break but mark the position as reached
• provide conditional versions for the expressions above
• print traces of tagged breakpoints/marks

If you compile functions with debug on you hopefully should be able to see the wrapped sexpr's result values.

(use-package '(brake))

(defun fizzbuzz ()
  (loop for n from 100 downto 0
	for fizz = (zerop (mod n 3))
	for buzz = (zerop (mod n 5)) do
	(format t "~a "
		(if (not (or fizz buzz))
		    (format nil "~d" n)
		  (brake-when (= n 0)
			      (concatenate 'string
					   (if fizz "Fizz" "")
					   (if buzz "Buzz" "")))))))

These macros try to detect common cases for tagged sequences being either aborted via break or completed to the last step, resetting them after to the initial state. However it is possible for a sequence to end up "abandoned", which can be cleaned up by a manual command.

Say in the example below we want to break when the two first branches were triggered in a specific order. The sequence of 1, 3, 4 will reinitialize once the state 4 is reached, allowing to trigger continuously. At the same time if we blow our stack it should reset to initial when aborting.

(defun ack (m n)
  (cond ((zerop m) (mark :ack 3 (1+ n)))
        ((zerop n) (mark :ack 1 (ack (1- m) 1)))
        (t (brake :ack 4 (ack (1- m) (ack m (1- n)))))))

In addition there are a few utility functions to report on the state of brakepoints, enable or disable brakes based on tags and turn tracing on or off. Tracing isn't meant to replace the semantics of TRACE but to provide a souped up version of debug by print statements everyone loves.

CL-USER> (report-brakes)
Tag :M is DISABLED, traced, with 3 defined steps, current state is initial
Tag :F is DISABLED with 2 defined steps, current state is 0
Tag :ACK is ENABLED with 3 defined steps, current state is initial

Disabling breakpoints without recompilation is really handy and something I find using all the time. The ability to wrap a sexpr was often sorely missed when using BREAK in constructs without implicit body.

Sequencing across threads is sketchy as the code isn't guarded but in many cases it can work, and the appeal of it in debugging races is clear. One of those days I hope to make it more robust while avoiding potential deadlocks but it isn't there yet. Where it already shines tho is in debugging complex iterations, mutually recursive functions and state machines.

A comment on my previous post said,

The most difficult thing when coming to a different language is to leave the other language behind. The kind of friction experienced here is common when transliterating ideas from one language to another. Go (in this case) is telling you it just doesn't like to work like this.

Try writing simple Go, instead of reaching for Lisp idioms. Then find the ways that work for Go to express the concepts you find.

That's not at all how I approach programming.

A friend of mine once paid me a high compliment. He said, “Even your C code looks like Lisp.”

When I write code, I don't think in terms of the language I'm using, I think in terms of the problem I'm solving. I'm a mostly functional programmer, so I like to think in terms of functions and abstractions. I mostly reason about my code informally, but I draw upon the formal framework of Lambda Calculus. Lambda Calculus is a simple, but powerful (and universal) model of computation.

Programming therefore becomes a matter of expressing the solution to a problem with the syntax and idioms of the language I'm using. Lisp was inspired by Lambda Calculus, so there is little friction in expressing computations in Lisp. Lisp is extensible and customizable, so I can add new syntax and idioms as desired.

Other languages are less accommodating. Some computations are not easily expressable in the syntax of the language, or the semantics of the language are quirky and inconsistent. Essentially, every general purpose fourth generation programming language can be viewed as a poorly-specified, half-assed, incomplete, bug-ridden implementation of half of Common Lisp. The friction comes from working around the limitations of the language.

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CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 .

 

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

.

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

.

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

 

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CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

 

.

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

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CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

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CONTINUED TOMORROW. (For those who came in late: The first sentence was posted here on October 1 and a new sentence was posted every day thereafter.)

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

.

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW. (For those who came in late: The first sentence was posted here on October 1 and a new sentence was posted every day thereafter.)

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

. 

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW. (For those who came in late: The first sentence was posted here on October 1 and a new sentence was posted every day thereafter.)

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW. (For those who came in late: The first sentence was posted here on October 1 and a new sentence was posted every day thereafter.)

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

.

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW. (For those who came in late: The first sentence was posted here on October 1 and a new sentence was posted every day thereafter.)

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW. (For those who came in late: The first sentence was posted here on October 1 and a new sentence was posted every day thereafter.)

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

.

 

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW. (For those who came in late: The first sentence was posted here on October 1 and a new sentence was posted every day thereafter.)

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

 

.

 

 

 

CONTINUED TOMORROW. (For those who came in late: The first sentence was posted here on October 1 and a new sentence was posted every day thereafter, to make a complete story.)

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.